A BIGGER CANVAS

​“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”Desmond Tutu

I can’t even tell you the first time the name George Floyd appeared on my screen. What I will tell you is that I didn’t click the video. In the back of my mind I just said, “another one,” and moved on with my day.

I have become that numb and indifferent. And that’s a problem and it’s disgusting.

I am convicted; therefore, I will not remain silent.

I am not an activist. I am not the person protesting downtown. I am not the person urging you to call or text a number to hold someone accountable for using their power incorrectly. But I am a Christ follower and that is enough for me to leave the comfort of my head and write this.

I honestly didn’t know how to or think I’d speak on the issue because I rarely do publicly. I always wrestle with it because I think to myself, “they don’t need my two cents.” And I still think that but only because I am not qualified to speak on the injustices against the black community around me, and I never will be. With that being said, I do genuinely offer myself and my business to fight injustice the best way I can.

So, I am here to tell you that I am not neutral.It is not hard for me to side with you.I believe you when you say your life is hard.I believe your trauma.I do not choose the side of the oppressor and I never will.You are not less. You are worthy. You are enough.I am sorry if my silence contributed to the pain you feel.I choose you. I choose to speak up for you. I choose to defend you.I see you. I hear you. I am with you.

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I know and you know that words are not enough. So, I will make sure my words aren’t empty. And if you find yourself needing proof of this, please reach out to me personally.

Love, ​Gaby

*** Updated June 4, 2020 below this line ***

These are some links and other resources (some are repeated) I've collected for my own use, which I'm adding here for future reference and if you need any direction about what you can do right now.

On November 2, 2019, my best friend texted me "I have a feeling 2020 is going to be amazing." I'm happy to report that so far, that's how it's been for my business. One of the first amazing things to happen this year is this interview with VoyageHouston Magazine. They featured me/Pinales Illustrated in their "Inspiring Stories" series and I am still beaming from it. It is an incredible honor to have been recognized in my hometown. I've included a preview of the interview below and the rest you can read by clicking the link that follows! x

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriela Pinales.Gabriela, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?I’ve had an interest in art since high school. I remember gifting some of my work to friends because I loved helping people feel important and seen. After a few years of using art as a creative outlet to find myself, I realized that it was more than that. While I was in school, I created a private Instagram account to share my work with strangers, because I wasn’t ready to let people close to me in. I began following other artists who were using their gifts the way I dreamed of doing.After sharing my work with loved ones and receiving their encouragement, I made my account public for everyone to see. In March 2017, I opened an Etsy shop and established Pinales Illustrated. Today, my older sister Marisol and I share our work in hopes of inspiring others in pursuit of anything that sets their soul on fire. Now after three years in business, we’re looking at areas where we can continue growing as an artist and how to give back to our community to help others.

I haven't been this excited to share something with you in awhile. If you recall, I picked up studying Edgar Degas as a personal hobby this past summer and some of you have been following along for the journey. You voted on the name for this series which turned out to be “Beyond The Canvas,” a name my younger sister came up with. This series is just where we share what we learn about him, and later, other artists. Thank you for being excited with me!! This post is also about ripples.. the kind that spread if you drop a pebble into water. These ripples are about all the things, the good things, that happen when you commit yourself to your craft.

I began studying Edgar Degas simply for fun, because I liked a lot of his paintings. But there's also something I read in a book which you can see in my "Beyond the Canvas" highlight on Instagram. For my final for the fall semester, we got to choose what we created, as long as we used knowledge we learned throughout the semester and could explain why our choice was “artistically sound.” So I chose to recreate a portion of a Degas painting on a 24x36 canvas. I wanted to grow in my knowledge of him as an artist by studying one of his actual paintings. I picked "Two Dancers" from 1890 (included below) because this is one of the dancers that always caught my eye when I looked through his stuff. I love her pose, the colors he used to make her and the confidence she portrays. I also chose this one because when you look at the full painting, to the right of the dancers there is something I couldn't quite figure out. This space that seems unresolved to me. My inspiration was to give the ballerina a new home on a background I imagined which included references to Degas.​​

“When it comes to art, it’s important not to hide the madness.” – Atticus Poetry​

My madness is that I'm a perfectionist and many times I don't do things because I don't feel ready.

I’ve sat in front of my to-do list a bunch of times the last month ready to get back to work. But taking a break for as long as I did discouraged me from actually beginning. I’d start “organizing” my to-do list and by the time I was done, I was drained. I was overwhelmed by the number of things I felt I had to do before drawing again. (yup, it makes no sense to me now that I’ve written it down.) Even though the break felt sooooo good, getting back in the swing of things is hard. After switching non-stop between school-business-day job since late 2016 (getting ready to open our Etsy shop), it was long overdue.

I also wanted to make sure I had a flexible plan to follow for my business, and one I could be consistent with. I care deeply about this and that means I have to make time to work on development and be strategic in the way I do things, to keep growing and avoid becoming stagnant. The balance of creative me-time & business time has definitely been a struggle for me. Turning a hobby into a business has forced me to work more on my time management skills and learn how to handle the stress that comes with it. A lot of what I do I’ve learned on the fly but implementing those things has been difficult over the course of the past two years in business. (!!! more on that later)

Yesterday, sitting at my desk and getting to work was seamless. I don’t know what was missing before; maybe I wasn’t in the right headspace or it just wasn’t time yet, I'm not sure. Today I read about the "1-3-5 rule" for being more productive, so I'm going to try that this week. This tactic narrows your to-do list down to nine daily items, (1 big thing, 3 medium things, 5 small things) and is flexible in case "stuff comes up." I’ve put together a small plan for the rest of June and hopefully everything else falls into place.

​In January, instead of a New Year's resolution, I set a goal to feature 1-2 artists a month on my Instagram account. This was in an effort to get to know, promote and grow the artist community I love so much.This community that at its best, creates some of the most inspired work I have ever laid eyes on. Our wish is to feature artists in all creative capacities and at any stage in their careers.We buy their art to support them and share that art with you in hopes that you'll love them and want to support them too, like you support Pinales Illustrated. We are so thankful to each and everyone of you who do.

---------------- This post will be updated monthly as the new Artist of the Month (AOM) is announced. ----------------------

OCTOBER, Tamris

I don't know about you but it feels like the month of October was a dream because it went by so quickly. However, we love new months because we are able to share new artists with you. A couple weeks ago we stopped by a pop up event where different brands and designers shared their work. We received styling tips and made new friends and among them was the great sister-friend-designer duo of TAMRIS. They created this beautiful wrap dress worn here by Marisol. We both fell in love with the bold color block design on this dress and had to purchase it at the pop up shop. TAMRIS uses hand-picked exotic fabrics which enhances their mission to promote alternative fashion and we could not be more proud to support them. Their styles are perfect for adding pops of color & unique patterns to your wardrobe for fall! You can shop at www.tamris.com or by browsing their Instagram feed @tamris_. Hope you enjoy these images of Marisol in the dress we purchased and some from the pop up event.

Welcoming 2018 with an exciting and encouraging thing that happened for Pinales Illustrated!

I was interviewed by Printed Mint as part of their #GirlBoss Interview Series. Read a preview of it below and click the link that follows for the full interview.

When did you start your business?I began working as a freelance Fashion Illustrator in November of 2016 under the name “That’s So Sketch,” but later changed the name to what it is now. “Pinales Illustrated” was born from a shared desire to establish a legacy with our family name, through a company that would be defined by more than one thing. My sister Marisol joined me to sell our art together and I launched our Etsy store in March of 2017, as well as a store on Society6 in June, 2017.​​You clearly market to a very distinct customer and ​we adore it! How did you go about deciding onyour “dream client”?I gave this term “dream client” a lot of thought as I was planning what and to whom I would sell. Leading up to the launch of my store, I wrote this term on a blank sheet of paper like 5-8 times. Each time hoping to find exactly who they were through the various attempts I made to describe them. I deduced that they were fashion inclined first and foremost. I also used terms that described their character, treatment of others, love of art and of course, age. In short, my dream client is someone looking to add sparkle to their life and the lives of those around them.

Nana has received her prize! I am so thrilled to show you how her case turned out. Below you'll see photos of all the steps we took to create her case and at the end you'll have a chance to get your own! ​

Fall fashion and fall outfits are all the craze right now.
I can't get on Pinterest without pinning a few (or more) outfits that totally grab my attention. I quickly begin to take mental notes for how I want to dress this season. I've illustrated a few of the most coveted looks for fall, here is the first blog for the first outfit. I've also added links where you can find my artwork and the items that inspired me. Stay tuned for more. xxx
-Gaby (@pinalesillustrated)
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​Yesterday October, 11, 2017 I posted a video to Instagram with the quote above and pictures of illustrations I've created. Here is my connection to this particular quote and my connection to the Day of the Girl.

My first giveaway was in March when I opened my Etsy shop and I think it's about time for another! Fall products have arrived in my shop and more are still to come. So as a new season sneaks up on us here are the rules for this giveaway.​​​​The only rule for this giveaway is...1. sign up for my newsletter! that's it :)